​​​​​​​ISTANBUL

Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan discussed the latest efforts Wednesday in a phone call to end the three-year Russia-Ukraine war with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, according to Turkish diplomatic sources

Lavrov earlier Wednesday said Russia proposed holding the second round of direct negotiations with Ukraine on June 2 in Istanbul, Russian state-run news media TASS reported.

“With the support of the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Türkiye, it was possible to create conditions for the resumption of direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations,” Lavrov said in a statement.

He noted that the first round of talks took place on May 16 in Istanbul, resulting in a prisoner exchange of 1,000 from each side. The parties also agreed to prepare position documents toward a sustainable settlement.